By Their Own Bootstraps
by iSniffMarkers
Summary: "If you want a better life, don't look for examples, do what I did: pull yourself up by your own boot-straps." "It's a lot easier to pull yourself up by your boot-straps, Mr. Man... if you already know how to fly." she said, before walking out.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice**

***Set a year or two before Young Justice. A lot of this, I'm getting from the few pages of the Icon comics I have saved on my computer :P ***

**NO OC'S IN THIS. JS.**

**Each chapter may be rather short... but updates will come faster, at least .-.**

* * *

When Raquel's friends had convinced her to go on a joy ride, she didn't expect it to become a robbery. She didn't agree with what she and her friends were doing- normally, she would've just walked away. Let them get in trouble. It would be their fault- nobody was forcing them to rob the place. The only reason she stays? The possibility of affording a typewriter.

She loved writing, but lacked the typewriter to hone her craft- she wanted to be a writer, just like Toni Morrison. Unfortunately, she had lost the motivation to write after her sister, Della Ervin, had died because of drug overdose a year back. That, and she was busy, taking care of her younger step-brother, Del.

"If ya' hear anything, drop everything, and run." One of her friends said, as he finished picking the lock into the house. They had driven from the ghetto's in Paris Island, to the suburbs in Dakota City. When the door opened, and the four of them stepped inside, Raquel looked around in awe. They were standing inside a lavish mansion. Each of her friends disappeared off into a different room, while she stood there, looking around. After a moment, she decided just standing here probably wasn't the best idea.

She followed her on-and-off again boyfriend, Noble. She was glad she did- because he had flipped on the switch the moment she walked in, and revealed a library. It was huge- hundreds of books. Raquel looked around in awe, and walked over to the nearest bookcase to look at some of the titles. "Wow..." she breathed, as she pulled out one of the books so she could read the back.

However, Noble was not interested in looking at the books. He was looking around the room for anything valuable. "Are you just going to stand around looking at books, or are you going to look for anything that may actually be worth something?" he asked, not turning to her.

Raquel shot a glare in his direction, before placing the book back where she found it, and turning back to him. She was going to snap at him... but when the two others rushed into the room, she turned to them, instead. They looked terrified. "What is it?" she asked, looking to see if there was something behind them, before her eyes shifted back to their faces.

"We saw something big- the door just _opened, _and it was like... Batman, but without the ears, and it was _green_." Jose said. They had plenty of reason to say he was the dumbest of them all. "Let's get out of here, before it catches us!"

Noble rushed over. "Did he see your faces?" he asked.

"No. We ran before he could get a good look at us."

Now, Raquel really just wanted to get out of here. The last thing she needed was to get in trouble. "Can we just leave? Standing here like morons will only get us caught!" she said, narrowing her eyes, and pushing her way past her friends to get out of the library. She froze after less than a few steps out- that single, impossible image floating before her eyes, changed her life forever.

It was a african-american man, with glasses. His green jacket billowed out behind him. Raquel probably wouldn't have been afraid of him... if he hadn't been flying above her. She backed away, eyes wide with shock. The other three rushed out behind her- and paused, just as she had. Jose raised a gun that I hadn't noticed before- and shot at the man.

Raquel screamed, expecting the man to fall to the ground, dead- or at least severely injured. She didn't think he would continue to fly above them, with his eyes narrowed dangerously.

Noble immediately stepped in front of Raquel, as though to protect her. Normally, this would've annoyed her- but was this really the time to complain? "So, you got a bulletproof vest! I'll shoot you in the face!" he said, reaching into his jacket. Geez... did all three of them have guns on them!?

"I sincerely hope that _whatever_ you're about to pull out of your coat is made of _chocolate_..." The man said, speaking for the first time. "Because I _promise_ you, I'm going to make you eat it."

Noble froze, before pulling his hands out of his jacket, and putting them up.

Not wasting a second, the flying man continued. "I want you all to leave here, _now. _You are to tell no one what you have seen- you are to return anything you've stole tonight to it's rightful owner. And you are never to commit another crime. Because if you do... you will see me again." he warned them. The four of them shared a glance, before running out the door. Raquel wasn't sure about the others... but she believed him.

The four of them ran in different directions once they got back to Paris Island- all of them eager to return to their own homes.

After what Raquel saw, her world seemed so _small_. While her mom gave her hell for coming home late... all she could think about was what a crappy life her mom's had, what a crappy life she was going to have... and the sudden possibility of _flight_.

* * *

"You've got a visitor." The woman said, standing in the doorway to a study. Raquel stood behind her, staying quiet, with her notebook in her hand.

"I do? Who?" she heard the man ask. For a moment, she considered leaving- but she knew she would regret it, if she did. Instead of turning and running, the woman, moved back out of the doorway, to allow Raquel to walk in. She took a step into the doorway, and froze.

The man was obviously shocked to see her. "What are you doing here?" he asked, as his eyes narrowed.

Raquel took a deep before walking up to him. "My name is Raquel Ervin... and, I wanted to say sorry, for what my friends and I were going to do." she said. She noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that the woman was standing in the doorway once again. "I... also wanted to talk to you, about what happened last night." she said, before holding up the notebook to show what she had drawn. Two figures, with the words 'Icon' and 'The Rocket' over their heads.

"Icon? What's that?" The man asked her, while he looked at her drawing.

Raquel smiled, glad he was at least paying attention. "It means like an example, or an ideal."

"Actually, it's a symbol that stands for something else." He corrected her. This annoyed her, and her smile faded- she hated when people corrected her.

"Oh, yeah? What do you stand for?" she asked, as he took the picture from her, and set it on his desk to look at it. "You should be like a super-hero! And set an example for people, like you did for me and my friends."

The man frowned, before looking up at her again. "And what's '_Rocket_'?" he asked her.

"That's me! I would be like your side-kick, so that you never forget why you're doing it." She said, her smile slowly re-appearing.

He looked up from the drawing, and leaned back in his chair. "People don't need an example, child. If you aren't doing well, you haven't tried hard enough." he told her, with a frown. "If you want a better life, don't look for examples, do what I did: pull yourself up by your own boot-straps."

Raquel narrowed her eyes, and turned away from him. "It's a lot easier to pull yourself up by your boot-straps, _Mr. Man_... if you already know how to fly." she said, before walking out. She promised herself she wouldn't bother him about it- and she wouldn't. The woman followed her, and closed the door behind the disappointed teenager.

* * *

**Meh, I was bored... most of this came from the comics... This will either be a full story, or a two-shot. Not sure yet. :P**

**R&R... please!? D:**


	2. Chapter 2: AN

**Hey, guys! Markers, finally back for good. I've been away a majority of the time for personal reasons- but I'm back, and ready to continue writing! There are just a few things, first:**

**1. To those reading Suspended Animation: I'm gonna start replacing these chapters with new chapters. Chapter 1 is all done; Chapter two should be done soon. Maybe I'll just re-publish it? I dunno.**

**2. 77 Moments: I WILL reach my 77 chapter goal! I'm gonne try to update this once or twice a week**

**3. Mt. Hogwarts: I have NOT forgotten about this. I'm working on the chapter right now; I just took a break for a while'**

**4. By Their Own Bootstraps: Working on this after Mt. Hogwarts**

**5. Match: Working on this after By Their Own Bootstraps**

**Super sorry for neglecting my stories! It saddens me that a lot of people won't even read my stuff anymore because of my hiatus and shit. Oh well... Love you all, even if you don't love me anymorex3 c:**


End file.
